Singing Along with Mary

We don’t know Mary’s song because we largely have no revolution in us.

Photo by freestocks on Unsplash

You can listen to the audio of this sermon on Luke 1:39-56 at The Heavenly Banquet or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Two pregnant women visit, and they dream of who their children will be. But they don’t dream of future doctors or lawyers or senators. They dream of revolutionaries, of children who will topple governments, upend economic systems, crush social hierarchies, dismantle systemic oppression. They dream of children who will turn the world upside down, who will throw the powerful down from their thrones and lift up the lowly, who will feed the hungry- who will feed the hungry with good things- good things! -not the leftovers or pantry rejects, canned vegetables and boiled potatoes and sardines- no, they will feed them with good things- a lavish banquet! But the rich? They’ll be rejected. They aren’t even invited.

The women are giddy about it. It’s all so wonderful but absurd and yet absolutely true, and it all sort of overwhelms them with a frantic joy that spills from their mouths as animated speech that evolves into song. The women are literally so excited about it that they start to sing about it. They improvise little songs for each other about it. Revolutions are serious business, but the future is so certain the women sing about it as though it has already happened.